Writer Beefs Up, Waxes Down

In November Corsello, 36, went to New York for the before pictures. At 6 feet 1 inch, he weighed in at 218. “ I had been pretty severely out of shape for five or six years,” he says.

With GQ footing the bill, Corsello enlisted the help of local fitness trainer Robin Craig Diamond, owner of Fitnessman Studios. The two worked out together three times a week for 90 minutes. “We did squats and bench presses,” Diamond recalls, adding that he put Corsello on a strict low-cal, six-meal-a-day diet that forbids high-fructose corn syrup. Corsello credits Diamond’s approach for his success. “He’s not a Marine, he doesn’t bark at you. He’s more of the Clint Eastwood mode.”

Throughout his assignment, Corsello kept a body journal, which he used as a guide for his story. What he discovered surprised him. “I’d written about being fat,” he says. It’s different for men than women, he stresses: “It doesn’t make you ugly, it makes you invisible.” As Corsello trimmed down he became more aware. “You have a sense of eyes, whether you attract them or whether they go past you.”

Corsello felt them on him. But it wasn’t just because of his sinewy shape. To pull off the desired look, Corsello received a series of spray-tan treatments, dyed his black hair fiery blond like Billy Idol and had every part of his hairy body waxed above his waist.

Two weeks ago, with the three-month assignment complete, Corsello went back to New York for the “after” photos. His colleagues at GQ were stunned, he says. Some didn’t recognize him. His weight had dropped to 181, four pounds below the target.

The story of Corsello’s transformation for GQ has been photographed in a style reminiscent of the “Bully on the Beach” comic-strip advertisements for Charles Atlas products, he says.

He plans to maintain some of the look that shocked even his wife. “Who’s this gay porn star who’s moved into my bed?” he says she teased, adding: “She actually likes the hair.” He’ll keep Diamond as his personal trainer, too. But the waxing is history, he says: “There is no reason for any man to endure the torture except for an inane magazine story.” — Brandon Walters